5 Most Creative Promo Items From The Last Five Years

Including the largest joint ever for Weeds, and a drunk VW Beetle with bloodshot googly-eye hubcaps.

1. Iams (Australia)

2009.
Barbell flying discs. Pretty much the best promo item I’ve ever seen.
Iams should spend their entire ad budget on producing millions of these perfectly-branded toys and then get distribution into every pet food store in the world so that they would eventually get into the mouths of almost every able-bodied dog on the planet. This is social media.

2. “Weeds” (Sweden)

2008.
That’s a Fatty.
Bouquets of hemp were sent to press and media agencies to promote the premier of the show in Sweden. Copy on the card: “Weeds. Seriously Good Shit.”

3. Alzheimer’s New Zealand

2010.
Cannes silver lion winner for Alzheimer’s New Zealand. Erasers were hollowed out and fitted with USB memory sticks. On the reverse side is Alzheimer’s NZ’s logo and website. They were distributed to local politicians and appropriate organizations to increase awareness. So perfectly simple — all charities and non-profits need a great leave-behind like this that isn’t immediately tossed in the garbage.

4. Nivea (USA)

2008.
During Miami Fashion Week, Nivea installed a few of these custom sofas in South Beach to promote its Good-Bye Cellulite product.

5. Federal Ministry of Transport (Germany)

2009.
The Ministry wanted to raise drunk-driving awareness. So, they created bloodshot googly-eye hub caps for a fleet of Beetles, which were then driven around alcohol-fueled public events. Pretty damn funny, especially for a government initiative.

Conversely, here’s 8 absolutely terrible promotions from the last 8 years.